The authorities have been piecing together the timeline for Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa’s deaths.
Us Weekly confirmed on February 27 that Hackman, Arakawa and one of their dogs were found dead at their Santa Fe home the previous day. The Academy Award winner was 95 while his wife was 64. Hackman’s family later confirmed the couple’s passing.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” Hackman’s daughters and granddaughter told Us in a statement at the time. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
While law enforcement ruled out foul play, an investigation commenced to determine the pair’s cause of death.
Nearly one week later, the chief medical examiner for New Mexico, Dr. Heather Jarrell, revealed the official causes of death in a press conference. She determined that Hackman died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor while Arakawa’s death was due to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome.
Keep scrolling for a complete timeline on the events leading up to Hackman and Arakawa’s death:
February 9
During a March 7 press conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed that Arakawa picked up their dog, Zinna, from a veterinary hospital after the pup underwent a procedure.
February 11
Two days after picking up Zinna from the vet, the classical musician conversed with her massage therapist via email. That same day, Arakawa was spotted running multiple errands around town, per surveillance footage viewed by authorities.
“Mrs. Arakawa was at the Sprouts Farmers Market between 3:30 and 4:15 p.m. Mrs. Arakawa was seen on surveillance video at the CVS Pharmacy in Santa Fe from in 4:12 to 4:20 p.m. She then stopped at a local pet food store at about 4:54 p.m.,” Mendoza said during the March 7 press conference. “Her car was seen on surveillance and the remote control clicker that was assigned to her and her vehicle was used to enter the subdivision to gain access to the gated community at 5:15 p.m.”
After Arakawa returned to her and Hackman’s home, she received multiple emails that went unanswered. Jarrell stated it was “reasonable to conclude” that Arakawa died on this day.
February 17
Amid the investigation, Mendoza shared on February 28 that Hackman’s pacemaker recorded its last event nine days before the actor’s body was discovered. When asked by a reporter if that meant Hackman could have been dead since that last registered moment, Mendoza stated it was very likely per the pathologist on the case.
February 18
It was later determined that Hackman most likely died one day after the final recording on his pacemaker.
“There is no reliable scientific method to accurately determine the exact date or time of death. Mr. Hackman’s initial pacemaker data revealed cardiac activity on February 17. With subsequent pacemaker interrogation demonstrating abnormal rhythm of atrial fibrillation on February 18, which was the last record of heart activity,” Jarrell said on March 7. “Based on this information, it is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman probably died around February 18.”
February 26
Days later, a welfare check for Hackman and Arakawa was initiated after a maintenance worker called 911 to report that the pair were unresponsive. The worker was outside their home and noticed the bodies through a window.
When the police arrived at the scene, they found Hackman, Arakawa and one of their dogs deceased. Two additional healthy dogs were also found on the couple’s property.
According to a police report obtained by TMZ, an open pill bottle with the medication scattered next to Arakawa’s body. She was reportedly in a “state of mummification.”
February 27
News broke the following day that Hackman and Arakawa passed away.
February 28
One day after news broke a preliminary autopsy revealed that both Hackman and Arakawa did not show signs of “external trauma.”
March 4
Hackman’s daughters worried that the actor and Arakawa suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. The fire department did not find evidence of a carbon monoxide leak. However, the gas company later revealed there was a “minuscule leak” of 0.33 percent gas in the air — which is a nonlethal amount — at one of the stove burners
March 5
Police initially reported that Hackman and Arakawa’s German shepherd was the one found deceased. However, the dog was misidentified by the officers as it was revealed that the pair’s kelpie mix, Zinna, was the one who passed away.
“Our deputies, they don’t work with canines on a daily basis,” a spokesperson told the Associated Press at the time.
March 7
Hackman and Arakawa’s causes of death were revealed in a press conference after the pair’s family were notified first. Hackman died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor.
“I think he died as a result of his heart disease with the Alzheimer’s being a contributing factor,” Jarrell said, noting that it was difficult to say it was a heart attack.
Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which was considered to be a natural cause. Jarrell added that due to Hackman’s Alzheimer’s condition, he may not have realized his wife passed.
“I can tell you that he was in an advanced state of all and it’s quite possible that he was not aware she was deceased,” the medical professional said.
While Hackman and Arakawa’s dog’s death has not been determined a vet ruled out hantavirus since dogs cannot catch the condition.
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